The Big E roundup - Welcome Fall

Today marks the final day of The Big E's 2025 season. I went on Connecticut Day this year and I had a really great time, especially considering the fact that I wasn't able to go last year.

  

Regardless of what the calendar says, Fall officially begins for me personally on the day I go to the Big E. Here are some highlights: 

My photos in The Big E!

One huge thing for me this year is that I entered some photos into their annual Photography & Fine Arts contest and two got in! I've wanted to do this for years and finally did it. My photos were on display in the New England Center, among lots of other photos, art, fiber crafts, etc. It felt amazing to be included with so many other talented people's artworks!

And now, the food. Here's everything we ate/drank this year:

Chocolate lemonade (lemonade w/ chocolate syrup) - Vermont building. Verdict: 👍

Maple Donut - Vermont building. Verdict: 👍

Baked potato w/ the works - Maine building (of course) - Verdict: 👍

 

 

Giant roasted salted cashews - Rhode Island building - Verdict: 👍

Lobster Nachos - New England Craft Pub - Verdict: 👎 not worth it, hardly any lobster, underwhelming

Warm Apple Maple Creemee - Ferrindino Maple stand - vanilla soft serve w/ crumbly bits, warm cooked apples, maple syrup drizzle - Verdict: 👍

Lots and lots of wine, mead, and hard cider samples! Verdict: 👍

Sloppy Dough - Anna's Fried Dough stand - Fried dough w/ sloppy joe meat and melted cheese - Verdict: 👍👍👍 one of our absolute favorite things this year or maybe ANY year.

Lobster Volcano - International Lobster House - Bread bowl filled with lobster bisque and a generous portion of steamed lobster chunks - Verdict: 👍

Whiskey bread pudding - Steaming Tender (near the Craft Commons) - Verdict: 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 - holy shit, this was decadent and fantastic.

Last but not least: Big E Cream Puffs! I always buy these at the end and take em home. One original flavor, and one of this year's special flavor, Espresso. Verdict: 👍

Next up - A general assortment of autumn/Halloweeny things:  

And finally: An assortment of miscellaneous things that caught my eye.

 

Happy Autumn to all!

 

Lughnasadh

Hard to believe that it's already August. 

In just a couple more weeks, I'll have been back in CT for 6 whole months. It feels like summer just began, and now we're entering the autumn zone in earnest. 

 

I've been pretty busy. Going on a lot of evening walks. Gone swimming a bunch of times. Have eaten a ton of summer squash (that my mum & I grew from seed). Had some art up in a group art show in Hartford. Went to a summer carnival, saw fireworks a couple times. Spent time with family. Went to my fave local farmers market a few times. Ate some grilled food. And I got put on a big project w/ my usual contract gig, so I've been working a ton, too. Honestly? This has been one of the most relaxing summers I've had in years. I've had my ups & downs, but it's been so good for me to be back here, back home. Even just the smell of the earth & air here has been restorative. 

 

The thing about New England is, no matter what season it technically is, there's an underlying mood of Autumn mixed in. There's a certain haunted quality here year round. And I love it. Life still has a lot of challenges for me ahead, but at least I feel more at ease for awhile. This is a healing time.

 

 

 

Re-emerging

Is re-emerging a word? 

It is now.

Anyways, I've been through a lot these past 6-plus months.

I'm back on the east coast now, living with family til as I do my best to get my shit together. It's been a rough adjustment sometimes, but there are also moments of relief: the familiarity of feeling like I'm HOME again. 

The seasonal changes in particular are comforting: a full range of sensory experiences. When I arrived here in mid-February, it was still full-on Winter (in western WA, it was already early Spring). 

 

It's good to be back. There are so many people and things I've missed. 

 

 

And now Summer is officially just a few days away. I'm getting used to the climate here again and I'm reveling in it. My current neighborhood is actually walkable and I'm out there all the fucking time. I grew up around here so lots of nostalgia, which makes it a bit surreal to be here but also feels like I never left. 

I've been updating my Instagram more often lately and hope to update here more as well.